Cloudy Horizon
by lady-orexis
Summary: A story focusing on a new character named Ria and the KHR gang after the manga ending. It will probably continue during their HS years.
1. Girls and Self Defense

It started when Ria met Kyoko and Haru on her way home. The girls were being picked on by three high schoolers in front of the cake shop. During normal circumstances, she would normally let this kind of scene pass by and let both parties settle their difference. But things look like it's heating up.

"Haru didn't do anything bad!" said the brown haired girl. "If anything, it's your fault the cakes we bought are now ruined!"

Ria recognized the girl from her uniform. She knew this is a fellow student from Midori Middle School. Haru Miura was best known in Midori because of her outrageous costumes.

"But you we're the ones who bumped into us!" shouted the tallest boy. "Now look at this mess!" He pointed at his uniform with several stains of icing on it.

"We apologize. We didn't mean to do it." said the orange haired girl politely.

"And how do you plan to compensate us for it then?" asked the other boy slyly.

Ria saw the boy winked at his companions. They tried to approach the girls.

"How about you come with us then?" The mean looking one even tried to have his arm around Haru's shoulder.

"Hahi! Haru don't like to go with boys like you!" she tried to get away from the grip.

"We should be leaving soon." The orange girl this time held Haru by her hands and started inching away from the boys.

"Now that's not a nice way to apologize. You should be coming with us."

The boys then started dragging the girls. Ria decided it was time to interfere.

"Haru!" Ria greeted and approach the girls casually.

"Ria-senpai!" Haru breathe a sigh of relief. She knew this senpai around school; she was popular with the upperclassmen and sports club members. The girls look obviously hopeful.

"Are you guys going home?" she asked with a smile on her face as if she didn't notice the tense atmosphere. "We could all go home together!"

She took both the girls hand and started walking away from the high school boys.

The boys who were momentarily dumbstruck by the appearance of a cool looking girl came to their senses.

"Stop right there! We still need something from those two." shouted one of the boys.

And here she thought they could at least avoid them until they got further.

"But we are going home!" she turned smiling at them.

"No." the leader nodded to his companions and surrounded them. "Maybe you could come with them then."

Ria resisted the urge to roll her eyes at them. One boy tried to grab Haru's wrist which earned a slap from the girl.

"Hahi! Haru didn't mean to hit you! Haru was startled…"

Ria would have clapped her hands. Awesome reflex movement… hehe.

"Bitch!" the boy tried to retaliate.

She quickly deflected the boy's knuckle that would have bruised Haru's face. Ria got pissed.

"You did not just do that…" she said darkly.

"So what if I did?" the boy retorted smirking.

Haru screamed. When Ria looked back, both girls are being forcefully dragged away.

She turned just to find out that she too was being dragged forcefully by her wrist.

She snapped.

Ria grab the boy's pinky with her other hand and then pulled it the other way effectively removing the grip from her wrist. She continued pulling it down in such a way the boy was left with no choice but to pull back and kneel.

"Gaahhh… you bitch!" the boy screamed in agony.

She preceded with a forceful arm lock that bended the boy's arm the other way before kneeing him in the face.

"One down." She counted.

When she reached the orange haired girl, she freed the girl by doing the same technique with the boy's hand. She delivered a quick upward elbow blow to the boy's chin before turning for a roundhouse kick to his side.

"Two." She muttered before catching up to Haru and the boy's leader.

"Stop." She called.

The leader turned just to see his companions staggering behind him. "What the fuck did just happened?"

"They tripped." She shrugged. "If you just kindly return my friend to me, we'll all be happily out of your way."

"No wa—" the boy yelped in pain. Haru tried to bite her way off of the villain.

Ria would have laugh out loud but realizing that they were free they should be running now.

"Run!" she called to the two girls before proceeding to take their hands in hers and running away from the scene as fast as they could.

So the three middle schooler ran so fast until they run out of breath.

They sat by the riverbank to catch their breaths.

"Haru is tired." Haru gasped. "Thank you so much senpai."

"Yes, thank you for saving us." seconded the orange head. "I'm Kyoko. Kyoko Sasagawa. I go to Namimori Middle."

"No problem." Ria replied breathing heavily. She realized that it has been a long time since she last ran like that. "I'm Ria. I attend Midori just like Haru here."

"That was so cool senpai!" Haru exclaimed. "Haru would like to learn how to fight like that, too!"

"That was basic self-defense." she shrugged. "A girl at least needs a way to defend herself once in awhile."

She look up to find the sun setting fast. She got up. "Oh well, gotta hurry and prepare dinner. Be careful on your way home. See you later!"

She wasn't even far from the riverbank when the two tried to catch up with her.

"Wait senpai! Haru would like you to teach her how to fight!" the brunette hurriedly said.

"Uh… what?" she asked surprised.

"We'd like you to teach us self- defense." Kyoko spoke up. "Please."

Who could say no to those puppy eyes those two gave?


	2. Meeting Hibari 1

Several weeks later, Ria, Kyoko and Haru can be found practicing some self defense techniques by the riverbank. She didn't actually teach them anything fancy. She gave them tips and some pointers about some hand movements. Like how to dodge attacks, what to do if someone grabs you or what you should do if you are threatened with a knife. She taught them just enough for them to not get in trouble if ever harassed by some boys in the streets and give them running chance.

They train sometimes after school and during their weekends. Ria had to admit the girls are pretty determined. They said something about being protected all the time.

"Haru is happy senpai teaches us a lot of things!" Haru exclaimed in one of their breaks. "Just the other day Haru just showed her prowess to that annoying Gokudera!"

Kyoko laughed. "Even Tsuna-kun and onii-chan was surprised, too."

"And how did that happen?" Ria asked curiously.

The two blushed from embarrassment.

"Um… you see. We were walking home one day when somebody grabbed our shoulders from behind…. And then we… We didn't really mean to do it!" Kyoko's blush darkens.

"Haru and Kyoko threw Gokudera and Tsuna-kun!" Haru claimed.

"And who is this Gokudera and Tsuna-kun?" she asked.

"They are friends you see." Kyoko replied.

"Ohh…" Ria laughed. Hard. "I wish I could have seen it."

"So what did they do after?" she asked.

"Bakadera was so mad but Tsuna-kun being the great man that he is said it was okay!" Haru grinned.

"They forgave us pretty quick. They even asked where we learned to do that." Kyoko answered smiling.

"You have cool friends…. Or should I say boyfriends?" she teased them.

The girls blushed again. "Senpai!"

"Haha… Oh well, we should go back to practice if you wanna learn more."

Five minutes later, Kyoko and Haru can be seen sparring lightly. Ria assessed their movements and was satisfied they could at least execute quick and graceful movements to dodge and sometimes attack. It was one of the important parts of training. Girls are physically weaker than boys and some may never hope to defeat one unless equipped with the right knowledge and techniques.

"Haru! You move too much! Don't tire yourself out by doing those extra movement." She shouted from the sidelines. "Kyoko… don't be too stiff. You won't able to move properly. Just let the movements flow."

She watches them for a bit more and decided she should be ending her lessons with them. After all what they need later would just be to continue practicing. She is not really allowed to teach anything that she learned from her master a.k.a her grandfather.

She called them to stop and let them sit in front of her.

"Now, I've seen progress with you two and all I can say is that I'm really proud." She grinned at them.

"That is because senpai knows how to teach us well. We didn't know martial arts can be practiced easy." Kyoko beamed.

"Yes. Haru was able to understand and apply the things that you thought us! We won't be needing help from the boys when it comes to simple things!" Haru said proudly.

"Yes, I'm glad. Then you must know that we will be ending our training sessions from today on. All you need to do now is to practice regularly to get used to the movements naturally and of course increase your stamina by running." Ria said.

"But senpai…"Haru started. "We can't do it by ourselves!"

"Yes… we still need you with us." Kyoko pleaded.

She sighed. "It doesn't mean that if we stopped training together we'll stop being friends you know. How about I spar one last time with you guys?"

"Okay." They agreed.

.

.

.

First match was between Ria and Kyoko.

"Okay. You don't need to land attack on me. If you can dodge my attacks and escape my grips for one minute that means you pass." Ria told both girls. "You time us first, Haru-chan."

Haru and Kyoko nodded.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Ready." Kyoko confirmed.

Adjusting her speed to Kyoko, Ria started delivering quick hits to her face. Kyoko responded by stepping back and sidestepping and then tapped her last blow down.

"Not bad." Ria grinned. She tried to go for Kyoko from behind and caught her by the neck with one of her arm.

That's when things started to go wrong.

Something hard struck her from behind which left her feeling dizzy. Then there was a painful blow to her side.

Oh shit. I think I heard my rib crack.

She had to push Kyoko and jump away just when she heard the wind of another blow.

From a distance Haru was screaming.

"What the—?" was all she could mutter before the attacker started going after her again.

"For attacking a Namimori student, I'll bite you to death!" the dark haired boy holding steel tonfas claimed.

"What?" she asked still disoriented from the early blow. She was barely able to dodge attacks directed at her.

The boy gave another swipe with his tonfa and Ria staggered. She landed on her back with the tonfa pressed down on her chest.

"Hibari-san, stop!" shouted the recovering Kyoko.

Left with no choice, she caught the tonfa weighing her down. She twisted it away from the boy's grip while pushing his elbow. The boy was caught off guard and she used the chance to flip them both. Ria was able to straddle the boy down.

"Herbivore you…" the boy narrowed his eyes at her.

She was still struggling to twist away the tonfa from that powerful grip so she pushed his elbow down more hoping to hear a bone crack.

"What the hell did I do to you?" she demanded obviously beginning to get pissed since her side was aching painfully.

She can't even focus her gaze now since her vision was becoming blurry. The hit from before had obviously affected her.

"Senpai! Ria-senpai!"

And then she blacked out.


	3. Meeting Hibari 2

_When Ria came to, she was staring at two faces hovering above her._

_"She's awake to the EXTREME!" shouted the silver haired boy with a scar on his temple. Ria had to cringe just from the volume of his voice._

_"Uh… where am I?" she asked as she tried to get up._

_"In our house." Kyoko answered. "We had to ask onii-chan to carry you here since we don't know where you live."_

_Ria looked around and then started vaguely remembering. "I was attacked…" she touched the back of her head where she was hit earlier. It was still throbbing in pain._

_"What exactly happen?"_

_"Hibari and you fought to the extreme!" the boy replied._

_"Um… you see. Hibari-san thought you were attacking me." Kyoko explained._

_"And he just decided to attack me without even observing the situation?"_

_The bastard, she mentally noted._

_"He was the head of Namimori Disciplinary Committee so he can be extreme sometimes." The boy replied._

_"Violent, you mean. The guy nearly killed me!" she gasped realizing that there was also a searing pain to her side. She lifted her shirt up to check the damage done. There was a nasty bruise already forming. She breathe a sigh of relief after making sure that she didn't crack any rib. But it will be hard for her to make sudden movements for days._

_When I see him… She slapped her forehead. Who would want to meet that demon again? Nevermind, I'll just make sure never to cross path with that psycho again._

_She sighed and turned to Kyoko. "So what happened afterwards?"_

_"Well Onii-chan and company happens to be passing by and they were able to restrain Hibari." Kyoko answered._

_"Hibari chased them instead to the extreme!" the boy grinned. "I was hoping I get to fight Hibari again. But Kyoko asked me to carry you."_

_"Oh right… thanks… Um." She trailed off since she doesn't know what to call the boy._

_"Ryohei Sasagawa. I'm Kyoko's brother!" he introduced himself._

_"Right Sasagawa-san…. Thanks." She smiled._

* * *

><p>"No." Ria glared at Midori Student Council. "Why not ask Haru Miura to go to Namimori Middle instead? She visits the school every chance she gets."<p>

"Well you know that any negotiations with the Namimori Student Council had to be approved by their disciplinary committee and Miura-san refuses to go and get approval from the head."

Ria sighed in frustration.

Several days after the incident, Ria tried her best to stay out of the way of the violent boy she came across. She thinks she even developed some kind of extra sensory perception when it comes to sensing if that Hibari was near. Unfortunately, current circumstance seems to be ruining her avoidance plan by requiring her to have a meeting with none other than the psychotic prefect of Namimori.

Midori and Namimori Middle will be holding a joint cultural festival. Midori Student Council apparently had a meeting with the other school but refuses to go in fear of the Disciplinary Committee head. So they decided to ask a representative instead. Baiting her with money, Ria agreed to do a job for the Student Council.

_I'm an idiot for agreeing to this. _

"You can't back down now. You have to do whatever it takes to get his permission for this event."

Had she known that the request involves going to Namimori Middle she would have refuse the offer from the start. Too bad, she already spent the money on something else.

"Fine. If I die early, it'll all be in your conscience."

* * *

><p>Ria found herself standing in front of the Namimori Middle School gate the next day. She was wearing her Midori Middle School Uniform proudly. Her long waist length jet black hair trailed behind. Her brown eyes are full of determination to finish what she came for. Holstered to her side, covered by her school jacket were her expandable batons. She touched it to assure herself.<p>

_Just in case. I don't even want a repeat of my accident._

She took slow breathes to calm herself down before entering the school for the inevitable confrontation with Hibari Kyoya. She was hoping the boy wouldn't remember her. Why, the guy beats up lots of people everyday surely he must have forgotten about their fight by now.

As soon as she entered the gate, she was immediately stopped by a guy with a regent hairstyle.

"You are not from this school. Please leave the premises."

"Wait. I was sent by the Midori Student Council. I was asked to get permission from the Disciplinary Committee for them. Something about a joint cultural festival." She took out the letter of request the president gave her.

The guy frowned.

"Look, just let me pass and meet the head of the committee." Ria asked when she noticed the red committee armband pinned to the guy's jacket.

"Very well." The guy nodded. "I'll take you to the reception room."

The guy took her to the reception room and then knocked on the door lightly.

"Enter."

"Hibari-san. There was a visitor from the neighboring school that requests a meeting." The guy reported after entering.

Ria hesitantly entered the room. "I'm Endo Ria from Midori Middle School. The student council sent me."

She saw Hibari narrowed his eyes slightly when she introduced herself.

"Leave, Kusakabe." He muttered.

"Hai."

Ria gulped. She threw a pleading look at the man called Kusakabe but she was ignored. And just like that, she was left alone with the scary committee head. Her heart was hammering wildly against her chest.

_Wait… why am I nervous? I didn't even do anything wrong. He should be apologizing instead since he was in the wrong for hitting me without cause the other day!_

She tried to inhale to calm herself before starting. "Ano… the student councils of my school and this school are both preparing for the cultural festival and they said to get permission from you first…"

"Festival means crowding. I don't like crowding so I won't allow it." He said curtly.

"What? But—"

"No means no, herbivore. Now leave." Hibari said before returning to his paperworks.

Ria without thinking slammed her hands down the table in anger.

"That's not fair. You have no right to hinder this event!"

"Leave."

She stared at the prefect dumbstruck. Hibari returned her stare now looking annoyed.

She gulped remembering Midori's president words. "_You can't back down now. You have to do whatever it takes to get his permission for this event."_

Then an idea came to her mind. It might work but she have to be very careful about it. She let out a sly smile.

"Hibari-san, I heard you like fighting."

The boy raised one eyebrow at her.

"How about a match?"

She offered. "If I win, you let the student councils do their thing without hindering them. If you win, I'll do whatever you asked of me for one week."

"Rooftop now."

Hibari stood up, caught her wrist and dragged her outside the reception room towards her doom.


	4. Duel and Debt

Ria tried to calm down her nerves by taking a deep breathe. She tried to focus since she was still out of breathe from being dragged upstairs. Imagine the surprise of Namimori students when they heard her shouting at Hibari to let go of her as they passed by several classrooms.

_"Who is she?" one random student asked as they pass by a classroom. Her scream must have disrupted the classes since the students are now peeking curiously at the windows of their classrooms._

_"Ohh... she's in trouble now."_

_"Isn't that a Midori Middle uniform?"_

_"Hiiieee! Hibari is dragging a girl!"_

Among the students, Ria caught sight of Kyoko's worried face. She gave a brief nod to assure the girl that she will be fine.

Hibari threw the students a death glare. "Go back to your seats or I'll bite you all to death, herbivores."

There was an immediate response and the corridor became silent again.

Now face to face with the skylark at the rooftop, she forced herself to stand up straight and look calmly at the chairman. Hibari's tonfas were already out and was about to move when...

"Wait!" she called.

"What, herbivore?"

"We should have a rule for this fight." Ria proposed. If it is a battle of strength she has no hope of defeating Namimori's demon. "First to disarm your opponent wins."

Hibari didn't respond and just stared.

"What?" she asked.

"You don't have a weapon." he deadpanned.

"What?" she look down at her hands. "Oh yeah... I forgot."

Ria crossed her arms and reached to the batons on her sides. Pulling it out, she flicked her wrists and it both extended. Its a twenty two inches customized nightsticks of black steel given by her grandfather weighing a bit more than the ordinary police batons. Its design looks more practical for kali in which she excels at. She can strike down hard enough to cause a broken bone if needed. She twirled them testing its balance and weight on her hand.

"Wow." Hibari let out sarcastic remark.

She rolled her eyes at him and then looked pointedly at his tonfas. "Oh right... as if you don't use these kind of weapon."

Hibari scowled. She moved into her fighting stance. "First one to disarm, alright?" she confirmed. She was pretty confident she could disarm Hibari before he could actually hurt her.

"Fine." he growled before moving in a flash going for his first attack aimed at her side.

"Hey!"

She was barely able to dodge the first one. She tried to fend off the next swipe, to her face.

She gasped. "You must be kidding!"

Hibari's movements were clearly not aiming to disarm but to hurt.

"I said to disarm!" she called out as she back away from the skylark.

"You didn't say anything about not hurting your opponent though." he answered with a smirk.

She stared dumbfounded. "But I-" She could only imagine the horrified look on her face. Her plan backfired.

_Change of plans._

Hibari came at her again. He delivered a swift blow downwards. Ria twirled one baton up, doing an upward slash movement to parry the blow followed by her left weapon to completely block it. Steel met steel.

_CLANG!_

Hibari narrowed his eyes at her. She met his glare with an equally icy stare of her own before pushing his tonfa away. She did a quick half set redonda movement all aimed at his head. Hibari backed away.

He moved forward again to attack, jabbing with both his tonfas. Ria stepped back a bit to reduce the impact, parried his right by slashing her left weapon down. She blocked the incoming left with her right baton and then do a figure eight slash.

They continued moving. Never giving each other an opportunity to hit nor a room for break. Ria realized she was already sweating from exertion but the prefect have yet to break a sweat. Compared to Hibari which she heard who gets into fights almost daily, she lacks training since she has not been training lately.

Hibari was really aiming to hurt her enough to slow her down before disarming her. She would have to avoid and block his attacks before counterattacking to take out his weapon. One thing she noticed about the chairman's movement is that it lacks strategy. His attacks were straightforward and sometimes follow patterns that are too easy to read to the trained eye. He was strong alright but his execution of movements are rough. It does not look that refined. There was little to no technique at all. Ria knew that if she had to defeat him she'd have to use logic. Her striking strength is not enough to send one of Hibari's tonfa flying away from him because of his strong grip. She had to have a free hand.

With a quick footwork, she distanced herself safely away from the boy and promptly holstered her other nightstick.

Hibari glowered at her but didn't say anything.

"Hey! I'm not underestimating you!" she defended. _Well, unlike you. I haven't forgotten my initial goal. The jerk is hell bent on inflicting pain!_

He uttered a brief 'hmp' before going for another strike. She backed away while twirling her stick down to tap down the blow.

_Here it comes!_

Waiting for the right timing, she sidestepped as his left weapon whipped past her. She grabbed of the tonfa near his elbow and then twisted it down. She briskly crossed her right weapon under Hibari's grip on the tonfa and pushed up to disarm him.

Hibari was caught off guard momentarily. He didn't think that the girl would actually go for his weapon. But as he struggle, he was also losing his balance.

_Just a bit more!_

Ria found herself being pushed. To her horror, she felt her lower back to the cold metal of the railing set around the rooftop. They were at the edge and she was also losing her balance fast.

Hibari who was only thinking of ripping away his tonfa from Ria's hand struggled to break free. She realized that her feet were not touching the floor anymore and she was tilting back.

_I'm falling!_

In her desperation, she grabbed hold of the closest thing, in this case, closest person in front of her before going on a downward spiral to her death. She couldn't even find the voice to scream in fear.

_I'm too young to die! Sorry grandpa for being a rebellious kid!_

She closed her eyes, fearfully waiting for her body to hit the ground with a sickening thud.

_SPLASH!_

_What happened?_ Am I dead? She opened her eyes and everything looks blue. Her body feels light. And she couldn't breathe. She realized she was underwater.

_Need air!_

She tried to swim up.

"Fwaaahhh!" she gasped for air as soon as he head shot out of water. Ria look around and found herself in the middle of a pool. Not far from her, Hibari was already swimming to the edge looking really pissed.

The water was up to her shoulders and it was really cold. She also swam to the other side of the pool. She reached the side, pulled herself up and took a moment to cough her lungs out. Her body was also aching because of the impact of falling on the pool several meters down.

_I nearly died!_

"You jerk! Are trying to kill me?" she screeched.

"You tried to pull me with you, herbivore." He replied with a cold voice.

She sneezed. _If I knew this is what I'd get for challenging him!_

"It's not my fault! You were pushing me towards my certain doom!" she retorted.

"I've been getting hurt since I met you. Come to think of it, I call on to your debt the other day for hitting me without cause!" Ria let out in frustration.

Hibari's eye twitched slightly, remembering the incident. So that's why the girl looked familiar to him. "Fine, I'll agree to your request just this once."

"What?" she asked still disoriented. What request?

_Oh… _

"Really?" She uttered with an incredulous look on her face.

_If I'd known that I should have called him on his debt in the first place!_

She facepalmed.

Hibari started walking away.

"Wait… What happened to the match?" she asked aloud.

She stopped when she realized that she was not holding her nightstick. She looked back at Hibari who doesn't have his tonfa with him.

"Hey, Chairman! The match is a draw, you hear!" she called out.

The skylark didn't look back but continued to walk back to his office looking annoyed with his uniform soaking wet.

Standing up, Ria sighed. "Now, how the hell can am I going back to school in this?"

.

.

.

* * *

><p><strong>OUTTAKES<strong>

_When I left my draft on the computer, my cousin tried messing with some parts that should have pissed me off. It got me laughing instead and I wanted to share it here._

Ria crossed her arms and reached to the batons on her sides. Pulling it out, she flicked her wrists and then she shouted, "Expelliarmus!" as she pointed it at Hibari's tonfas.

The tonfas flew out of his grasp suddenly.

"Wow." Hibari exclaimed sounding too impressed.

The watching students of Namimori stood awed for a second before cheering wildly.

.

.

.

She closed her eyes, fearfully waiting for her body to hit the ground with a sickening thud.

But then she suddenly sprouted wings and she flew far away from the evil demon bastard to find her true love somewhere riding the robot called Daimos.

The End

.

.

.

_SPLASH!_

_What happened? Am I dead?_ She opened her eyes and everything looks blue. Her body feels light. And she couldn't breathe. She realized she was underwater.

And then she heard it, the playful music of Disney's Little Mermaid playing in the background. Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian joined her shortly doing a happy dance.

Hibari was floating nearby looking pissed he was left out the loop.

.

.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello people. Thanks for reading this fic. It just came out of the blue one day when my cousin and I were discussing about my trainings and studies in martial arts. She asked me to actually use it in my story since I do have knowledge about it. Surprisingly, I found it easier to write a chapter with a fight.<strong>

**Just as mentioned, Ria is using Kali as her fighting style. Kali/Arnis is a martial art that uses sticks, swords and daggers as weapon. Double and single stick wielding techniques are both applicable in combat and if it really requires bladed weapons you can substitute it with swords or daggers. Empty hand combat is also easy if you know how to apply the principles and techniques. It's fun learning it.**

**About the story, it won't really follow any arc of KHR in the anime or manga and also, I try not to make Ria a Mary Sue and try Hibari to be in character. How am I doing with them so far? XD**

**Anyway, reviews, comments and questions about the story is welcome.**


	5. My Neighbor and Friends

Ria sneezed. Kyoko handed her a tissue.

"Thanks." She took it gratefully.

"You were lucky to fall on the pool."

"Hahi! Are you okay senpai?" Haru asked worriedly.

"The hell she is after falling down like that, baka-ona!"

"That was fun seeing you fly with Hibari. Haha!"

"Hiiee! They were falling not flying!"

Ria was too busy trying to wipe her nose to even reply. Luckily, Kyoko called Haru over to get her a change of clothes. At least she got towel to protect her from cold. Haru brought her PE uniforms to change into. She met up with the girls including their rowdy friends.

They introduced themselves one by one and soon recognized the people Haru and Kyoko always happily talked about.

She met the confident Hana who give off a mature feeling and the very cute Chrome with a shy smile which she couldn't help but return her smile to.

She could immediately tell which one is Tsuna who the girls were always fond of mentioning. Ria could not help but get attracted to the small boy's adorable expressions specially when getting flustered. One look at Yamamoto and she can already tell that they can hit it off. She briefly remember the girls mentioning that he loves baseball and is pretty athletic, much like her who really likes participating in anything sporty.

What surprise her actually is meeting Gokudera or who she originally thought of as her neighbor and sometimes part time co- worker Akashi.

"Why hello there Akashi-san!" she smiled at the boy sarcastically. She always knew that the name Akashi is a fake name. Who the hell will name an obviously foreign boy with a japanese sounding name?

"Geh! I didn't know you were friends with the baka-ona." (Haru shouts 'Don't call me that') Gokudera tried avoiding her stare, guilty about something.

"Oh! You two know each other." Yamamoto happily noted.

"Apparently not. Since he calls himself Gokudera these days which I think is another fake name." Ria answered slyly. She wanted to know why this guy had to go through lengths of using an alias.

To which Tsuna and Gokudera answered simultaneously, "It's not fake!" "That's my real name!"

"Aa sou~" she chirped before releasing another sneeze. "Well, I'm Endou Ria. Yoroshiku~" she bowed slightly. "To those wondering, I met Kyoko and Haru few weeks ago. And this guy here-" she gestured to the scowling Gokudera. "is my neighbor and part time coworker."

"Is that so?" Hana raised an eyebrow at this.

"You work Gokudera?" Tsuna asked, surprised.

"I didn't know that!" Yamamoto said chuckling.

"He struggles to pay the rent, too." Ria added teasingly.

"I-it's not like that Juudaime!" Gokudera waving a hand defensively.

"Senpai taught us some self-defense moves!" Haru proudly exclaimed.

"We learned a lot from her." Kyoko agreed.

"Oh so she's that awesome person you were talking about who taught you the moves, huh?" Hana asks now interested.

"Oh wow..." Chrome muttered softly in what Ria thought sounded as admiration.

"Aww… you girls are making me blush!" she exclaimed before sneezing again.

"I think it's time to let Endo-san change." Tsuna mentioned, suddenly pitying the girl who had the enjoy introductions in wet clothes.

She nodded. She turned and waved to the boys. "Jaa~ Sawada-san, Yamamoto-san. It's nice meeting you!"

She gave a brief look at the silver haired boy before letting herself get dragged by the girls to change. The message being '_we will talk later_'.

"Gokudera what kind of part time job do you work on with her?" Tsuna asked curiously.

"Yeah! What kind job is it?" Yamamoto seconded.

Gokudera paled, remembering various misfortunes every time he had a job with Ria. "Uh... delivery." he said and then sighed tiredly.

From a distance, a small figure was observing them.

"Endou Ria, huh?" said a fedora wearing baby turning to the odd chameleon perched on his shoulder.

* * *

><p>"We didn't know you are neighbors with that Gokudera, senpai!" Haru started.<p>

"We'll he lives in the apartment unit beside mine. It's really troublesome with the daily explosions and other weird stuffs." She giggled. "He had to pay extra for repairs every month as well. It's even a wonder why manager even lets him live there."

"And you also work part-time with him Endou-san?" Kyoko asked.

"Yeah… the landlord of the apartment and the part time job manager is the same. So I guess it's convenient for both of us. The pay is good, too."

"What kind of part time job is it?" Chrome asked. Ria thought the girl is probably interested in doing part time jobs.

"It's uh… delivery. But it's a really troublesome job, you know." She didn't feel like explaining the details.

"Ah so why do you call Gokudera Akashi?" Hana's turn to ask.

Ria inclined her head in confusion. "Even if you asked me that… I'm not really sure. There wasn't enough time to talk during work and I never bothered to ask since he always look angry for some reason. Seeing him with Tsuna though is really surprising… He's like a totally different person. It's like watching a puppy follow its master."

The girls laughed.

* * *

><p>When Ria got home, she was too exhausted to cook something for herself. The earlier confrontation with Hibari and close death experience probably caused it. So she took out the supply of her favorite melon bread and started munching on it.<p>

_This will do for dinner_. She sighed blissfully.

Ria was probably halfway to heaven when a loud banging noise disturbed her.

"Woi! Endou open up!" someone called brashly from outside then another series of loud knocking.

Ria opened the door with the melon bread still in her mouth. She already have an idea who'll be at the the other side.

"Hummf fu mfu fumf?(what do you want?)"

"My real name's Gokudera Hayato. Juudaime's right hand man. It's just easier and safer to use an alias." The silver haired boy started.

Ria raise an eyebrow. "hmm… umf fumd fu fuhm! (that's good to know)"

"Remove the bread from your mouth!" Gokudera demanded.

She bit the bread, the sweet flavor filling her mouth. She momentarily forget the boy standing in front of her apartment.

"Oi!"

"Uh… Gomen, gomen. I was saying, it's nice to meet you Gokudera-san! I'm not really angry about not knowing you or anything… it's just weird since I've known you for almost a year now and it's my first time knowing your real name." She paused. "Why Gokudera Hayato though? You don't look Japanese to me."

"I'm partly Japanese." He answered curtly.

"Oh okay…" she didn't push it since the boy doesn't look keen on explaining the details of his origin.

"Don't get any weird ideas now." Gokudera countered. "It's not like we've become friends!"

"We'll I sure hope so. That would just be weird." She added. "If that's all then…"

She shut the door and then went back to munching her melon bread. She mentally noted having to restock later.

She thought back on her earlier conversation in Namimori. From what she observed, people gravitate towards Tsuna. Haru and Kyoko are fond of him. Yamamoto is close to the guy. Gokudera highly respects the guy. Whoever can make that weird Akashi act like that is probably someone special. They were even calling him Juudaime. Is he somekind of an heir to a large company or the yakuza?

_Nah… someone like that couldn't be studying at such an ordinary school._

But then again, someone like the demonic DC chairman is in Namimori.

Ria shivered at the thought of meeting Hibari. After the scary stories and rumors spread by most people in Nami, tales about him could actually rival the scariest ghost stories she heard.

_Maybe it's good thing I survived…?_

Still, it's better for her heart (and body) if she doesn't meet the guy again.

* * *

><p><em>AN: There are lots of ideas for this fic than my other one on khr but for some reason I'm having a hard time going about it. I already finish some chapters way advance than the next chapter actually (which is really weird). Anyway... without meaning to I think this fic will probably have my OC set a flag on some of the guardians than just focusing on OCx18. I'm trying to make it on the lighter side before the story turns dark and complicated.<em>

_Don't forget to review please. It'll help me understand what I need to do for the story to be interesting (although most it is probably wish fulfillment on my part since KHR ending left me hanging)._


	6. Shopping is

One thing that Ria liked after meeting Kyoko and Haru, she now have girls she can hang out with. It didn't mean she had no friends and nobody liked her. She doesn't know someone in Midori that openly dislikes her. After all, she wouldn't have received tons of chocolate gifts the previous Valentines days. For some reason though, most girls seems to be somewhat 'shy' around her and she doesn't even know why. And so she apparently lacked close female friends her age. Having the girls as her new friends was one of the best things that happened to her this year.

_I didn't use up all my luck from that this year? Right? Right?!_ She mentally panicked.

"Senpai, how's your order?" Haru asked.

Ria and the girls were at their favorite cakeshop.

"It's delicious!" she blissfully proclaimed. She ordered Mont Blanc and Melon Chiffon Cake.

"How about yours Chrome-chan?" she asked the quiet girl.

"Mine too… " the purple haired girl answered with a small smile.

_Aww cute~_

Ria was practically radiating an ecstatic mood along with the girls who were happily eating their cakes beside her. If this was a shoujo manga, the corner where they were sitting would have that fluffy sparkly background effect just because of the excessive feminine aura. It was no wonder why middle school boys and even high school boys kept staring when they passed by the cafe. The looks they were receiving proved Ria's opinion that Haru, Kyoko and Chrome are very cute girls.

_No boys will lay a finger on them…. Muahahahaha._ She thought darkly.

"Thanks for inviting me." She beamed at them.

Chrome blushed slightly and smiled. Kyoko and Haru nodded happily.

"Today is our cake appreciation day. We thought it would be fun to invite you." Kyoko replied.

"This place also sells the best cake ever!" Haru expressed.

_Kyaa~ Calm down, Ria. Calm down. You're gonna scare off the new friends like that._

Yup. On the outside she looked calm but she was inwardly rejoicing being surrounded by three cute girls. Don't get her wrong. She doesn't have THAT kind of inclination towards girls. She just found it amazing to be friends with these girls who are idol material. That and she really have this obsessive notion about cute people and things. Too much, in fact, that animals tend to run away in fright. Good thing she can still control herself when it comes to humans or she would probably find herself being avoided. A lot.

"Sometimes we order take outs and bring them over to Tsuna-san's so Reborn, Lambo and I-pin can eat them, too."

"Reborn, Lambo and I-pin?" she inclined her head slightly.

"Ah… they are small kids staying over at Tsuna-kun's." the orange haired girl answered.

"Reborn-chan is Tsuna-san's tutor." The brunette mentioned. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Sawada-kun's tutor is a small kid." She deadpanned.

The girls look worriedly at each other.

"Did I say something wrong?" Ria asked.

The girls looked uncertain how the answer. Chrome spoke up, "Reborn is really smart child, you see."

"If you say so..." She quickly accepted it. These days, genius children are rare but not hard to come by. You can see a lot of them featured in the news achieving many great things. Heck there was even a ten year old kid who entered college. She even met some kids herself as a previous assistant in a pre-school. Sometimes she would find children that act and spoke like an adult.

"He must be a very intelligent kid to be able to teach a middle schooler."

Was she imagining it or did she just saw the girls gave a sigh of relief? But as soon as the thoughts came, Haru immediately changed the topic.

"Let's do some shopping after this!" the girl announced.

Ria let herself get distracted. She have a list of things she'd like to buy anyway. "I'm in. So where to after this?"

_Twenty stores and countless shops later…_

"Mou… Dame da!"* she finally voiced out after walking out of the accessory store. She probably looked like she have been chase by seven demons.

"Senpai?" Haru inclined her head and looked at Ria questioningly.

"What is it?" Kyoko asked giving her that blinding smile.

_Waah~Too bright. A double attack?! _

"Eh?" Chrome turned to her with a doe eyed look.

_Gaah… Fatal combo! Too much!_

They were spreading that shoujo sparkle everywhere, giving the boys within the 10 meter radius a heart attack. She on the other hand started to feel faint because of exhaustion. She suddenly felt guilty about voicing out her tiredness.

An interesting thought crossed Ria's mind. Girls with a proper motivation have four times the stamina of an athlete. Something that Ria discovered while shopping with them. The scary thing about it was that she couldn't even back off as she had been caught in their phase. If her feet have a mouth it would have already berated her for the torture she made it experience. It was a different kind of tiredness she gets from moving her body in training and she doesn't even know why. She doubted science could explain. Not that she is any good at the subject anyway. She couldn't help but wonder why the girls never got tired at all. They weren't even sweating. How is it possible that they were easily tired during training but not while shopping? Even Chrome looks like she could walk another mile. And here she thought the girl looked frail and sickly.

_Did I miss a special female hormone for this? _She mentally cried.

"Are alright Ria-san?" Kyoko asked worriedly.

"Uh… I'm okay. Just a bit tired." She maintained a strained smile. They walked out of the store with Ria looking disheveled.

They agreed to get into the direction of the shopping district so they could buy snacks.

As they entered the shopping district, Ria exchanged a few greetings with some of the store owners and stall vendors.

"Endo-kun, how have you been?"

"Ria-chan! When are you going to help us out again?"

"Long time no see. Ri-tan! I see, you are with friends."

Stores they are passing by were giving them snacks and freebies left and right that they even needed a bag to carry those. They even acquired a couple of discount stubs from the stores.

"Wow senpai! You have many friends from the shopping district. Haru is amaze!"

"They are too kind to give these for free." Kyoko agreed.

"Is it really alright for us to take these?" Chrome shyly asked.

"Of course it is! They gave it. They are really cool people. If they wanted to give you something it must have mean they also like you." She assured them. Chrome looks like she specially need it. The poor girl doesn't look like she's being fed enough. She resisted the urge to hug the girl in comfort.

"How did you come to know them?" the brunette asked curiously.

"I do part time jobs for most of them here." She maintained a smile. Money is hard to come by for someone at a rebellious phase like her. And she really had to maintain her stockpile of melon bread and melon flavored snacks otherwise she might go insane. "It's fun working here. I learn a lot of things."

_And things I really don't want to learn as well, she mentally retorted. _

The girls blinked questioningly. She cringed a bit but maintained her awkward grin. _Yup, we better not go into details about that._

"Ah! Bianchi-san! I-pin-chan!" Haru exclaimed.

Not far away from them was a woman with small child on her shoulder. They were coming towards them when Haru called.

"Hello girls." The gorgeous foreign girl greeted them. Ria gasped. It was her first time seeing such a beauty that she couldn't help but stare dumbly.

"Haru! Kyoko! Chrome!" squeaked the baby on the woman's shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" Haru asked.

"Maman ran out of some ingredients for dinner. We have to buy ingredients for her." The beauty explained. She noticed Ria staring blatantly at her. "And who's this with you?"

Ria just gaped at Bianchi since this would probably be her first time meeting someone drop dead gorgeous. The different colored hair and eyes plus that enviously milky skin indicated that the woman is a foreigner.

"Oh… this is Ria-senpai. She's studies at Midori just like Haru!" the girl proudly announced.

"I-I am Endo Ria… pleased to meet you!" she hurriedly bowed blushing as she met Bianchi's eyes.

"Ria-san. Bianchi-san is Gokudera-san's older sister." Kyoko mentioned.

Ria choked. "She's what?!" You mean… she… Akashi… But he's—!" She could not believe that this beauty is related to that sour faced guy.

"So you know Hayato." Bianchi looked at her and then smiled.

"I uh… worked with him with some part time jobs."

"Thank you for taking care of my brother." Bianchi said sincerely inclined her head slightly to Ria.

"Uh…yes. I mean… no problem." She was lightly scratching her cheek in embarrassment.

"And this is I-pin-chan. We mentioned her earlier. One of the kids staying as Tsuna-san's! She's from China." Haru lifted I-pin and turned her to Ria.

_Waah~ cute_. And then she started staring weirdly again. She had let slip a momentary look of elation whenever she sees something cute and cuddly.

"Senpai?" Haru prompted her.

Ria had gotten hold of herself and waved at the girl instead. "Hello I-pin-chan…"

"Ni hao…" I-pin shyly greeted back.

_Did I die? Why am I being surrounded by these cute girls? This is too much in one day._

Ria realized something. It seems that the Sawada boy's house is home to several foreign guest. It must be a very lively household. It's probably the unofficial international guest reception house of Namimori.

They accompanied Bianchi and I-pin in buying the ingredients and they were given discounts on their purchase because of Ria's familiarity with the shop owners.

Before separating, they promised to have a girls get together with Bianchi and I-pin. Kyoko thought of inviting Hana as well. An all-girls meeting every week is something Ria can look forward to.

The four girls decided to end their shopping trip and get something to eat. The nearest being Yamamoto's sushi shop.

Ria opened the sliding door and bumped hard into her ever-scowling part-time coworker.

"Watch it you idiot!" Gokudera turned to her rudely. Before turning pale when he realized who he was yelling at.

_I refuse to believe that this callous brat is related to Bianchi-san!_

Ria crossed her arms and raise an eyebrow while giving him death glare. "Shouldn't you apologize first, Akashi?" Ria still couldn't get use to calling the boy by his real name. She just doesn't feel like it.

"Geh…" He cringed but refuse to back down. "What the heck are you even doing here?"

"Hahi! Haru and friends just want to eat here, Bakadera!" Haru piped up.

"Last time I checked, this shop is open to public." Ria replied and walked to the door ignoring Gokudera's frown.

"Whatever." He turned and stepped away. "I'm going to look for Juudaime."

The grumpy boy strolled away from the shop muttering something about annoying woman under his breath.

"Are you sure that thing is Bianchi-san's brother?" Ria couldn't help but mention. The girls look at each other and burst into a fit of giggles.

They entered the shop and found Tsuyoshi at the counter.

"Oji-san!" Ria greeted the man cheerfully.

"Oh Ria-kun! Haven't seen you in awhile. How is your grandfather?" The man gave her a hearty smile.

"He's probably doing okay." She paused and then replied guiltily. "Actually, I haven't been visiting grandpa."

The girls bowed and waved at Tsuyoshi before taking their seats at the counter.

"Hello girls! I see that you are friends with Ria-kun."

"Yes. She has been taking care of us." Kyoko answered.

"She's Haru's senpai from Midori!" Haru mentioned again.

"Well… I'm glad to know she finally have girls her age she can hang out with. She usually spends her time on part-time jobs and the elderlies even on weekends. It's a relief to know she have friends her age to hang out with and not wasting her youth."

Ria shook her head and laughed. "Not really…" was all she could say. It wasn't exactly wasting youth as she was doing it because she likes being occupied with things to do. Let's not forget earning so she can keep up with her melon addiction.

"Though her hardworking nature makes me want to keep her as a daughter." The chef said fondly.

Being the Tsuyoshi's daughter can't be a bad thing. Ria just felt warmth from the statement. She didn't have parents and her grandfather mostly treated her as his student and apprentice ever since she could remember. Feeling embarrassed again, she hid her face by looking at the floor.

"You're too kind, oji-san." She muttered. Tsuyoshi answered with a smile.

"Oyaji!" someone called from the kitchen. "I'm done with the dishes."

A familiar boy walked out to the counter. It was the dark haired boy he met early that week. "Eh? Ah, hello girls! You just missed Tsuna. He was here a moment ago." He said smiling.

"Aw… Haru didn't know. So that's why Bakadera was here." Haru said a bit regretfully.

"Hello, Ria-chan!" the boy turned to her.

"Domo." She wave back as she was gobbling up her tamagoyaki.

Ria paused upon seeing Tsuyoshi and Takeshi beside each other. "Yamamoto… Ehhhh?! Don't tell me…"

"Yes, yes… this is my son Takeshi." The man proudly introduced his son.

"Hai!" Yamamoto saluted.

"Really?" I just met him the other day. I didn't realize it immediately." Now that she think about it, the family resemblance is too strong. Yamamoto is such a common name that she didn't think too much about it.

"Most of the time you were here, you only stop by for a bit and this son of mine is out having fun with his friends or playing baseball. You always miss each other." Tsuyoshi explained.

She just nodded. She keep on meeting people these days only to find out they already know each other. Coincidences are piling up.

_It must be a good sign_, she thought.

The girls happily ate their order while the older Yamamoto entertained them with stories about his customers. He even related that incident where Tsuna and the others had to work to pay for the sushi orders. Ria had laughed specially hard at the parts where Gokudera messed up instead of helping and the time where Reborn and Bianchi kept on playing pranks to eat and run.

It was nearing dusk when the girl had decided to go home for the day. Ria lived the other way from them so they refused her offer to walk them home. They went ahead while Ria ordered one small box of sushi to take home.

"Takeshi, the match against the other shopping district is coming up." Tsuyoshi mentioned.

"I'm on it Oyaji! I've signed up already!" the boy expressed excitedly.

"You mean that baseball match where the shopping districts get to decide who can put up more ad posters on the main street?" she asked.

"Aye. That one." Tsuyoshi confirmed.

"Sanae-baasan asked me to represent their shops near the entrance area." Ria had agreed because most of the vendor there are older ladies.

"Takeshi will be representing the shops from this area. He is Namimori middle's ace, you know. We have to win no matter what!" the man said firmly.

"Of course!" Ria answered. Her eyes glittering with determination. No one gets in her way of getting free melons.

In truth, the elder women vendors didn't need to bribe Ria with melons but her playing half-heartedly will not do so they had brainwashed her that winning will get her the free fruit. And so this girl have been manipulated completely.

"So you play baseball, huh?" the younger Yamamoto turned to her interestedly. He rarely gets to meet girls interested in playing baseball.

"I play with the girls team from Midori. I'm not too bad I guess." She grinned. More like she was always getting seduced into playing for them. The pay is quite high too.

"Come to think of it matches are coming up so training has been intense." She recalled how demonic their female coach has been the past training days. Almost like how Hibari was when biting someone to death. She shivered.

"Awesome! We should get Namimori baseball team to practice with yours." The boy offered.

"Hm… why not? After school maybe so it won't take too much time? I heard from girls you do morning practice.

"It will be good. It will help with my team as well." Yamamoto assured.

_Oh great! A joint training with guys. It will help with upping the girls' stamina. Maybe then the coach won't be too hard on them_, she noted.

They grinned at each other and shook hands sealing a new partnership.

Unknown the people inside the shop, a bug was transmitting their conversation to a smirking fedora-wearing arcobaleno. It was one of the bugs installed throughout Namimori for Vongola surveillance purposes. Takesushi is frequently visited by Tsuna so it has to be monitored closely.

Reborn heard all of it. But he thinks he might have to change things a bit. The shopping district contest is a good opportunity to train Neo Vongola. Since Namimori middle is already within the influence of a certain Cloud guardian, it was also about time to start building influence in other parts of Namimori. The shopping district is a good place to start.

Reborn stood in one of the apartment roof en route to Tsuna's. His gaze was following Tsuna and Gokudera through his Leon binocular while listening the conversation in the shop. He had a scary evil grin pasted on his face though the effect was quite lost on the face of his young form. Yes, _young_ should be the term. He refused to be called baby these days. Reborn could already feel himself growing. He doesn't look as small as he was a few weeks back when the curse was released. His limbs were not as short and stubby. He even looked taller than Lambo now.

He had not check with the others but he can say the same with Fon when he saw him the other day. The other arcobaleno were probably growing too. The thought excited him. It maybe that the effects of the curse being released was just delayed. He had to confirm it with Verde even if he doesn't like the scientist.

His growth aside, he needed to focus on what he should do next to nurture the Neo Vongola. He trace his steps towards the shopping district. Letting out a dark laugh while thinking of how he would set up his next training stage (torture) for Tsuna and the rest.

* * *

><p>AN: you guys have every right to complain not getting fast updates... but I'm not exactly a writer you know XD<p>

A quick trivia, Ria has always been in Namimori and has not been oblivious to the things that happens in Namimori. She just doesn't know that Tsuna and company are involved. It's because either she's been too busy or lazy to be curious about anything that doesn't involve her. I also think that Namimori also boasts a number of unusual people, they were just not given enough attention because Vongola really takes center stage.

Oh yeah, bet you've been wondering why I'm integrating Ria with girls instead of with the boys. Uh, simply because every OC from ff khr here usually gets included into the group through Tsuna so I wanna change that. It's much easier for me to imagine a girl character mingling with girls. I also wanna change the perception about Kyoko and Haru being damsels in distress whenever things happen. I even wanna give them awesome power ups so they can fight for themselves.

I wanna make a story that does not only focus on Ria but also shows how KHR would be according to me if manga had not ended during their middle school time. Like I said before, this story is kind of a wish fulfillment.

If you have any ideas how Tsuna and co should be like in HS please do share XD

Please tell me if there are any mistake and typos. I'm not a writer so I won't get offended if people point out the mistakes XD

Lastly, please review if you have time to even click that review button below


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